Events 1 - 200 of 742
- Jan 1 Beatles' Decca audition is unsuccessful
- Jan 1 Rwanda granted internal self-government by Belgium
- Jan 1 Western Samoa gains independence from New Zealand Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II becomes co-chief of Western Samoa
- Jan 1 United States Navy SEALs established.
- Jan 1 48th Rose Bowl: #6 Minnesota beats #16 UCLA, 21-3
- Jan 1 28th Sugar Bowl: #1 Alabama beats #9 Arkansas, 10-3`
- Jan 1 28th Orange Bowl: #4 LSU beats #7 Colorado, 25-7
- Jan 2 Nighttime version of "Password" with Allen Ludden premieres on CBS
- Jan 3 Ground is broken for the Houston Astrodome
Excommunication
Jan 3 Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

John XXIII
- Jan 4 1st automated (unmanned) subway train in New York City
Event of Interest
Jan 5 Tony Sheridan & Beatles produce "My Bonnie" & "The Saints"

Tony Sheridan
- Jan 7 1st AFL All Star Game, Balboa Stadium, SD: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 47-27; MVP Cotton Davidson, Dallas Texans, QB
Event of Interest
Jan 8 21 year old future Hall of Fame golfer Jack Nicklaus makes his first professional appearance; tied 50th in Los Angeles Open

Jack Nicklaus
Agent Orange in Vietnam
Jan 12 Operation Ranch Hand begins, a US Air Force operation to spray South Vietnamese forests with defoliants such as Agent Orange
Learn More
Event of Interest
Jan 13 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 73 points in Warriors' 135-117 win over Chicago Packers; at the time, most points scored in NBA regulation game, and remains tied for 3rd-highest total

Wilt Chamberlain
The Twist Dance Craze
Jan 13 Chubby Checker's song "The Twist", credited with starting the Twist dance craze, goes to #1 in the charts two years after first reaching number one spot
Learn More
NFL Pro Bowl
Jan 14 12th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 31-30; MVPs: Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns, RB; Henry Jordan, Green Bay Packers, DT

Jim Brown
- Jan 15 Dutch & Indonesian navy encounter in Etna Bay New Guinea
Event of Interest
Jan 15 Coco the Clown [Nicolai Poliakoff] is the subject of the BBC TV programme "This is Your Life"

Coco the Clown
- Jan 15 50th Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Margaret Smith beats Jan Lehane O'Neill in the final for 3rd straight year 6-0, 6-2
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Jan 15 50th Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Rod Laver takes the 1st leg of his 1st Grand Slam; beats fellow Queenslander Roy Emerson 8-6, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4

Rod Laver

Roy Emerson
NBA All-Star Game
Jan 16 12th NBA All-Star Game, St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Mo: West beats East, 150-130; MVP: Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks, C; All-Star record 27 rebounds

Bob Pettit
Event of Interest
Jan 17 NASA civilian pilot Neil Armstrong takes X-15 to 40,690m

Neil Armstrong
- Jan 17 Roy Harris' 8th Symphony, premieres in San Francisco
- Jan 18 Southern University closed due to demonstrations
- Jan 18 US begins spraying foliage in Vietnam to reveal Viet Cong guerrillas
- Jan 18 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Jan 20 "Kean" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 92 performances

John F. Kennedy
Event of Interest
Jan 23 British intelligence officer Kim Philby defects to USSR

Kim Philby
Contract of Interest
Jan 24 Brian Epstein signs management contract with the Beatles

Brian Epstein
Hall of Fame
Jan 24 Jackie Robinson is 1st African American elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame. Bob Feller is also elected.

Jackie Robinson
Event of Interest
Jan 26 Bishop Burke of Buffalo Catholic dioceses declares Chubby Checker's "The Twist" to be impure and bans it from all Catholic schools

Chubby Checker
- Jan 26 Canadian Marine Service renamed Coast Guard
- Jan 26 David Diamond's 7th Symphony, premieres in Philadelphia
- Jan 26 US launches Ranger 3, misses Moon by 22,000-mi (37,000-km)
- Jan 27 "Family Affair" opens at Billy Rose Theater NYC for 65 performances
- Jan 28 Johanne Relleke gets stung by bees 2,443 times in Rhodesia & survives
- Jan 30 UN General Assembly censures Portugal over Angola
- Jan 30 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Jan 30 2 members of Flying Wallendas' high-wire act killed when their 7-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit
- Jan 30 Laughter epidemic begins at a girls' mission school in Kashasha, Tanganyika, goes on to affect 14 schools and over 1000 people
- Jan 31 General Charles P Cabell, USAF, ends term as deputy director of CIA
- Jan 31 Samuel Gravely assumes command of destroyer escort "USS Falgout", first African American to command a combat ship
- Feb 1 "New Faces of '62" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 28 performances
- Feb 1 MLB's National League releases its first 162-game schedule due to expansion (18 games between opponents)
- Feb 2 1st pole vault over 16' (4.88m) (John Uelses-16', Melrose Games)
- Feb 2 8 of 9 planets align for 1st time in 400 years
- Feb 2 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- Feb 3 John Uelses pole vaults record 489 cm
- Feb 3 US President John F. Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba except for food & drugs
- Feb 4 "Gay Life" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 113 performances
- Feb 4 Russian newspaper Izvestia reports baseball is an old Russian game
- Feb 4 US female Figure Skating championship won by Barbara Roles
- Feb 4 US male Figure Skating championship won by Monty Hoyt
- Feb 5 French President de Gaulle calls for Algeria's independence
- Feb 5 Suit to bar Englewood NJ from "racial segregated" schools, filed
- Feb 5 Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn all within 16 degrees
- Feb 6 Schoolman Athletic Field in the Bronx named
- Feb 7 Gas explosion in Luisanthal coal mine Voelklingen Germany kills 298
- Feb 7 US President JFK begins blockade of Cuba by banning all Cuban imports and exports.
- Feb 8 KACB TV channel 3 in San Angelo, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Feb 8 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Feb 8 In Paris, 8 people killed at a protest against independence for the French colony Algeria
- Feb 9 Jamaica signs agreement to become independent
- Feb 9 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Feb 10 Jim Beatty sets American indoor mile record (3:58.9) in LA
- Feb 10 USSR swaps spy Francis Gary Power to US for Rudolph Abel
- Feb 12 Bus boycott starts in Macon, Georgia
Event of Interest
Feb 14 US 1st lady Jacqueline Kennedy conducts White House tour on TV

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- Feb 15 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Music Premiere
Feb 16 Darius Milhaud's 12th Symphony premieres

Darius Milhaud
- Feb 16 "La Jetée", French film directed by Chris Marker, starring Hélène Chatelain, Davos Hanich and Jacques Ledoux, is released
- Feb 17 Storm in Hamburg kills 265
- Feb 17 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Philadelphia Warriors scores 67 points vs St Louis Hawks
- Feb 18 France & Algerian Muslims negotiate truce to end 7 year war
- Feb 18 4th Daytona 500: Race winner Fireball Roberts dominates the event, leading 144 of the 200 laps
- Feb 19 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
John Glenn Orbits Earth
Feb 20 John Glenn becomes the 1st American to orbit the Earth, aboard Friendship 7
Learn More- Feb 21 Minister De Pous confirms natural gas reserves in Groningen, Netherlands
- Feb 22 Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record with 34 free throw attempts
- Feb 23 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Feb 24 "New Faces of '62" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 28 performances
- Feb 24 "Sail Away" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 167 performances
- Feb 24 General mobilization in Indonesia over New Guinea
- Feb 24 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Feb 25 India Congress Party wins elections
- Feb 25 Mike O'Hara completes record 97th marathon
Event of Interest
Feb 25 Robert F. Kennedy visits Netherlands

Robert F. Kennedy
- Feb 25 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Philadelphia Warriors scores 67 points vs NY Knicks for the second year in a row
- Feb 26 Arthur Kopit's "Oh, Dad, Poor Dad . . ." premieres in NYC
- Feb 26 US Supreme court disallows race separation on public transportation
Assassination Attempt
Feb 27 South Vietnam President Ngô Đình Diệm's palace bombed by dissident air pilots in a failed assassination attempt

Ngô Đình Diệm
- Feb 28 WMGM-AM in New York City changes call letters to WHN
- Mar 1 American Airlines 707 plunges nose first into Jamaica Bay, NY, killing 95
- Mar 1 Kresge Corporation openes the first Kmart store in Garden City, Michigan
- Mar 1 US and British nuclear test experiment in Nevada
- Mar 2 JFK announces US will resume above ground nuclear testing
- Mar 2 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points, most ever by an NBA player in a single game, during Warriors' 169-147 win over NY Knicks in Hershey; 36-of-63 from field, 28-of-32 from free-throw line
- Mar 2 In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup
- Mar 3 British Antarctic Territory forms
- Mar 3 9th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Wake Forest beats Clemson, 77-66
- Mar 4 AEC announces 1st atomic power plant in Antarctica in operation
- Mar 5 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Golden Globes
Mar 5 19th Golden Globes: "The Guns of Navarone", Maximilian Schell, & Geraldine Page win

Geraldine Page

Maximilian Schell
- Mar 6 St Louis vote to build a new downtown stadium for the Cardinals
- Mar 6 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Mar 6 US promise Thailand assistance against communist aggression
- Mar 7 Beatles made their broadcasting debut on BBC radio
- Mar 7 Launch of OSO 1, 1st astronomy satellite (solar flare data)
- Mar 8 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Mar 9 Egyptian President Nasser declares Gaza belongs to Palestinians
- Mar 9 US advisors in South-Vietnam join the fight
- Mar 10 Due to its no black policy, Phillies leave Jack Tar Harrison Hotel & move to Rocky Point Motel, 20 miles outside Clearwater, Florida
- Mar 12 Dutch Premier De Quay announces secret talks with Indonesia
- Mar 13 Yugoslavia grants 1,000 prisoners amnesty
- Mar 14 Disarmament conference opens in Geneva without France
Event of Interest
Mar 14 Gordie Howe (Det Red Wings) is 2nd NHLer to score 500 goals

Gordie Howe
- Mar 15 Richard Rodger's musical "No Strings" opens at 84th St Theater NYC for 580 performances
- Mar 15 Five research groups announce the discovery of anti-matter
- Mar 15 Donald Jackson of Canada is 1st to land a triple lutz ice skate jump
- Mar 15 KATU TV channel 2 in Portland, OR (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Mar 15 Wilt Chamberlain is 1st to score 4,000 pts in an NBA season
- Mar 16 1st launching of Titan 2-rocket
- Mar 16 US Super-Constellation disappears above Pacific Ocean, kills 167
- Mar 18 Algerian War ends after 7½ yrs (250,000 die), Ben Bella flees
Event of Interest
Mar 18 Dmitri Shostakovich becomes member of Supreme Soviet of USSR

Dmitri Shostakovich
- Mar 18 7th Eurovision Song Contest: Isabelle Aubret for France wins singing "Un premier amour" in Luxembourg
- Mar 19 "All American" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 80 performances
- Mar 19 Archbishop Suenens of Mechelen-Brussels appointed cardinal
- Mar 20 Sjoukje Dijkstra becomes world champion figure skater
- Mar 21 Yogi the bear becomes the 1st creature to be ejected at supersonic speeds by the US military testing ejection seats
- Mar 21 Dutch RC bishop Beckers declares himself in favor of birth control
- Mar 21 Philadelphia retires pitcher Robin Roberts' # 36
- Mar 22 "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" opens at Shubert NYC for 300 performances
- Mar 23 JFK visits San Francisco
- Mar 23 Nawab of Pataudi captains India cricket v WI age 21 years 77 days
- Mar 23 Wake Forest coach "Bones" McKinney becomes 2nd person to play and coach
- Mar 23 William DeWitt buys Cincinnati Reds for $4,625,000
- Mar 24 24th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Cincinnati beats Ohio State, 71-59; Bearcats win back-to-back National titles
Event of Interest
Mar 24 Mick Jagger & Keith Richards perform as Little Boy Blue & Blue Boys

Keith Richards

Mick Jagger
- Mar 24 Welterweight boxing title fight between Benny Paret and Emile Griffith, Paret knocked out 13th round, dies 10 days later. First use of television slow motion replay.
- Mar 25 "Family Affair" closes at Billy Rose Theater NYC after 65 performances
- Mar 25 French OAS-leader ex-general Jouhaud arrested
- Mar 26 US Supreme Court backs 1-man-1-vote apportionment of seats in state legistature
- Mar 27 Ann Jellicoe's play "Knack" premieres in London
- Mar 27 Archbishop Rummel ends race segregation in New Orlean Catholic school
NHL Record
Mar 27 Jacques Plante ties record winning 6th NHL Vezina trophy

Jacques Plante
Event of Interest
Apr 3 American jockey Eddie Arcaro retires after 31 years (24,092 races)

Eddie Arcaro
- Apr 3 Lt General Marshall S Carter, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
- Apr 5 Herb Gardner's "Thousand Clowns" premieres in NYC
- Apr 5 Mgr J Daems appointed bishop of Antwerp
- Apr 5 NASA civilian pilot Neil Armstrong takes X-15 to 54,600 m
- Apr 5 St Bernard Tunnel finished-Swiss/Italians workers shake hands
- Apr 7 Umrigar slams 172* v WI at Port-of-Spain in 248 minutes
Event of Interest
Apr 7 Yugoslav ex-president Milovan Djilas returns to jail

Milovan Djilas
- Apr 8 Accords of Evian (Algeria) accepted by referendum in France
US Masters Golf
Apr 9 26th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Arnold Palmer wins the 3rd of his 4 Masters titles in an 18 hole Monday playoff with Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald; tournament's first 3-way playoff

Arnold Palmer

Gary Player
Academy Awards
Apr 9 34th Academy Awards: "West Side Story", Sophia Loren & Maximillian Schell win

Sophia Loren

Rita Moreno
- Apr 9 JFK throws out 1st ball at Washington's new DC Stadium
- Apr 10 52,564 fans attend first MLB game at LA's Dodger Stadium at Chavez Ravine, a 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds
- Apr 10 Houston Colt .45s make their MLB debut with an 11-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Colt Stadium; outfielder Román Mejías hits a pair of 3-run homers
- Apr 11 New York Mets make a losing debut
- Apr 12 San Mateo County withdraws from BART (San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit) district
Baseball Record
Apr 13 Stan Musial scores his 1,869th run, a new NL record

Stan Musial
Election of Interest
Apr 14 Georges Pompidou becomes Prime Minister of France after the resignation of Michel Debré

Georges Pompidou
Event of Interest
Apr 16 Walter Cronkite begins anchoring CBS Evening News

Walter Cronkite
Event of Interest
Apr 19 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 to 46,900m

Joseph A. Walker